Page 118 of Endless Anger
ASHER
“I mean,you can’t really discount all the places ghosts could be hiding here.”
Foxe tosses a piece of popcorn into his mouth, chewing so loud that Keats growls at him from his perch on my dresser.
“The caves in those mountains are probably ancient. Older than the dinosaurs or something, and who fucking knows how many people have died in them over the years? Probably why the administration has them blocked off.”
Rubbing my eye with my knuckle, I grip my charcoal pencil between two fingers, smudging the lines on the monster sketch in my lap. “What the hell are you even doing out by thecaves? Shouldn’t you be in the studio or something?”
He snorts. “You think Fury Hill, with its population of, like, five people, has a recording studio? My best bet would be driving one state over and seeing if Aiden’s home so we could do a little jam sesh, but then I’d be leaving you all by yourself to deal with the weird stuff going on.”
“I’m more than capable of handling myself, dipshit.”
“Sure, sure, but I’d be lonely.”
In truth, I’m starting to regret bringing him along in the first place.The more people I keep in my company, the more at risk they are of being pulled in to this strange world. The more dangerous things become.
“How do you think Lulu will react to finding out you’re cursed?” he ponders, holding a piece of popcorn in offering to Keats, who sneezes at it.
“I’m not cursed.”
“Oh right. Yourbloodlineis.” Foxe shakes his head, catching the snack between his teeth. “Sheesh, good thing we’re related on Grandpa’s side. A curse probably wouldn’t be too good for my music career.”
“Can you call it a career when you haven’t done anything with it in months?”
He makes a face, throwing a handful of popcorn at me. “I’m starting to think you don’t want me here, cowboy.”
I glance up from my sketchbook.
“Pfft. Your life would be shit without me, and you know it.” Setting the bowl on the floor, he slinks down farther on the bed, rolling onto his side. “What’s your next move anyway? Gonna actually burn down the place like you wanted, or are you content to just silently pine after Lulu and continue to let her run around while killers are loose?”
“I’m notlettingher do anything.” She wouldn’t believe me at this point, even if I tried to explain.
Or maybe she would, and I’m just an idiot.
Maybe not fucking telling her is what got us into this mess in the first place.
“The crimes are obviously messages, Ash-tree. Do you not think she’ll notice a pattern?”
“Well, it’s not likeI’mthe one sending the fucking things.”
“No, but you’re the reason she’s being targeted.” He cocks an eyebrow at me, waiting. “Right? That’s why you didn’t want to come here?”
I don’t reply, going back to the sketch. A headless horse with a limbless rider, next to a sea monster and a minotaur. Nonsense, but it takes the anxiety out of everything going on in the real world, if only for a little while.
The closed door starts to rattle as someone pounds on it from the outside, making Foxe jump. I turn my head, watching the doorknob shake as the knocking continues, echoing in the room.
Keats hisses, diving under the bed.
“Methinks you fucked up big-time,” Foxe says, climbing out of the bed and walking to the door. He rolls his shoulders as if prepping for a fight, and there’s a sliver of hesitancy in both of us before he grabs the knob.
My side aches from where I was stabbed, and I consider the fact that there is very real danger lurking in the shadows on this campus. A group of people, if not the entirety of Avernia College, who are so terrified by what my ancestor did that they’re willing to go to great lengths to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
WouldLucy have been fine if I hadn’t come? I suppose fine is relative, and since she wasn’t exactly having the greatest time, there’s a possibility that all this would’ve happened anyway.
She witnessed her roommate’s death before anyone but the dean and my sister knew I was enrolled. It’s not like I’m the sole cause of what’s going on here.
Right?
